BANGOR, Maine — A woman convicted of running a drug distribution ring with her father for a dozen years in the Dexter area was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to 14 years in federal prison.
Kelli Mujo, 41, of Harmony and Wellington in Maine, and Central Falls, Rhode Island, and Roger Belanger, 59, of Corinna were found guilty in August by a jury of one count each of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute at least 5 kilograms, or 11 pounds, of cocaine and an unspecified amount of oxycodone and with using or maintaining a drug-involved place between Jan. 1, 2002, and Nov. 22, 2014.
In addition to those charges, Belanger was ordered to forfeit $6,783 seized by police on Nov. 21, 2014.
His sentencing hearing began on Feb. 14 but was not completed. It is scheduled to resume on March 22.
In addition to prison time, U.S. District Judge Jon Levy sentenced Mujo to five years of supervised release.
Belanger is not Mujo’s biological father, but was described in court documents as her “de-facto father.”
They were indicted in April 2015 along with eight others who have since pleaded guilty. Six of them testified last year.
After the verdict was announced, the judge ordered that they be held without bail pending their sentencings. Prior to that, both Mujo and Belanger had been free on bail with restrictive conditions that included electronic monitoring and home detention.
In his closing statement to the jury on Aug. 19, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel Casey, who prosecuted the case, described the drug distribution operation as “a family business, an illegal family business.”
He added, ” It operated for a dozen years because they were careful. They trusted their intuition. They relied upon their understanding about how to go about breaking the law. And they used their residences to operate the family business.”
Defense attorneys told jurors that investigators had recovered no drugs and had relied on informants who were drug users to make their case against Belanger and Mujo.
Mujo faced between 10 years and life in prison on the drug conspiracy charge and a fine of up to $10,000. On the charge of using or maintaining a drug-involved place, she faced up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $500,000.
Her father faces the same broad penalties.
Under the prevailing federal sentencing guidelines, Mujo, who has no criminal history, faced between 20 and 25 years behind bars.
Casey recommended Mujo be sentenced to 15 years.
Mujo’s defense attorney, Stephen Smith of Augusta, urged the judge to send his client to prison for between 12 and 13 years.
“The court must impose a sentence of at least 10 years to life and one which ‘sends a message,’” Smith said in his sentencing memorandum. “The court has a further obligation to protect society from drug dealers. Even taking all of these factors into account, the court should not help but look at Kelli’s history and characteristics with a sympathetic eye.”
Co-defendant Mark Tasker, 49, of Dexter was sentenced Monday afternoon to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for his role in the drug ring. Tasker pleaded guilty in July to a drug conspiracy charge and maintaining a drug-involved place.
His son, Greg Tasker, 28, of Stetson was sentenced in December to a year and a day in prison for his role in the drug conspiracy.